Forming a National Government

Topics

• President Washington
• Democratic Republic
• Articles of Confederation
• Land Ordinance and Northwest Ordinance
• Shay's Rebellion
• Federal System
• Three Branches of Government
• Constitution
• Federalist Essays
• Bill of Rights
• National Bank
• Whiskey Rebellion
• French Revolution
• Jay's Treaty
• XYZ Affair
• Alien and Sedition Acts
• President Jefferson
• Nullification Acts
• Marbury v. Madison
• Louisiana Purchase
• Lewis and Clark
• War of 1812

Essential Questions

• Pretending that you are there in 1787, describe the pros and cons of the federal system at that time.
• Analyze the government established by the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Which elements remain important today and which seem more for that immediate time period?
• Explain the differences between the early political parties -- Federalists and Democratic-Republicans -- and how those differences played out before and after the election of 1800.
• Which presidential election from 1792 to 1868 was the most important, or interesting, and why?
• Make the case for, or against, a national bank, both in the early years of the country and now.
• Describe the impacts of the physical expansion of the US in the early 1800s and the War of 1812.

Resources

• Call it Democracy - A film that outlines the electoral college process in light of relatively current elections (Gore v. Bush in 2000) and other elections. 86 minutes long. Found on snagfilms.com
• Webster dedicates the Bunker Hill Memorial and proclaims his generation's duty as one of preservation, defense, and enlargement. The excerpt from the last part of his long speech from 1825.
• eMedia Video: American Experience: The Duel. (Between Hamilton and Burr) (56 minutes long)